


Graceborn

by ChibiSailorMini



Category: Joseph: King of Dreams (2000)
Genre: A bit AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-11-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 09:57:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8528698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiSailorMini/pseuds/ChibiSailorMini
Summary: He was like the Sun, bright, warm, and always shining. She was the Moon, quiet, soft spoken and never saying a word. But they were brother and sister, both have been told  they were miracle children, but the Sun gets all of the praise of being God's Gift while she is left in his shadow with their older brothers, left to see the tear in their family from the start.





	1. Early Morning

They said she was barren, that she couldn't have any children. After many years of prayers and trying for one, it happened. My twin brother, Joseph and I were born at the cusp of morning and night, when the moon and stars are beginning to fade away and the sun was beginning to rise. When the dark blue of night kissed the red and yellow hues of the sun, painting the sky purple. Everyone was overjoyed.

My father, Jacob, shed tears of joy at seeing us -- no, he cried at seeing my twin brother and immediately snatched him, holding him, claiming we were miracle children. Our other brothers, eleven in total, all watched with love in their eyes, but the second Father denied them entry into Mama's tent, let alone a glimpse of us, the seeds of jealousy became planted in their hearts.

A soft bleating from outside our sleeping tent broke me from the haze of sleep. I opened my eyes and through the dim early morning light, I could see the eleven bodies of my brothers all laying on their straw mats and blankets. It was summer, meaning both day and night were hot, though night was always a tad bit cooler then day. 

Beside me, was my twin brother, Joseph. I had curled up beside him during the night like I always did. It used to be that Papa wouldn't allow me or Joseph to sleep in the same tent as each other, let alone with our older brothers, but after the most horrible crying fit that I've ever had when I was four, Mama talked him into letting my brothers and I sleep in the same tent.

"What harm could it do, to allow your children to sleep beside each other at night?" She has said and so here I was, amidst the sleeping bodies and heavy sighs.

Carefully slipping out from under the blanket my twin was more than happy to share with me, I got to my feet, pulled a second blanket around me over my cloth dress, and carefully walked through the tent, taking great care to not trip over any of my brothers. It was a bit cooler as i stepped out and still dark as well. 

Something cold pressed against my hand in greeting as I breathed in the early morning air. I could tell from the tentative licks on my palm that the white fluffy canine was my dog, Snow. Snow's tongue lolled out of his mouth, his tail wagging as I stroked his ear.

"Hey, boy." I whispered to him quietly. I giggled softly at seeing his tail wagging furiously now. I could see an expectant, hopeful look in his eyes. "Sorry, Snow, it's too early to play."

The dog whined now. His nose pressed in to my hand once before darting off into the darkness and back. He pushed up on his hind paws, bring himself into the begging position. A cloth ball, made out of cloth, leather, and animal hide, was in his mouth. Looking at him, you wouldn't think he was born a wolf. 

I found Snow as a newborn pup, abandoned by his mother. Why she abandoned him, I didn't know. Papa had told me once that sometimes God willed animals, and men, to suffer, so that they may become stronger. I took that pitiful wolf pup and tried raising him secret. 

It wasn't until that fateful morning when Snow was a few moons old, old enough to open his eyes and walk around, he had howled. I was his Mama and I had left him among the sheep. A female sheep that had given birth to a small ram had let him suckle from her, but I was the one who took care of Snow.

The howling had woken up my brothers since our tent was always close to the sheep pen. I thought they were going to kill it, but they didn't. Judah convinced Papa to let me keep it as long I trained him to protect the sheep and herd them when they were let out to graze. 

Snow was a fast learner and he protected his sheep family, even when his adoptive sheep brother, Shea became the lead ram

"Snow." I whispered. I smiled at the memory and sighed. "Alright, we'll play, but you got to keep quiet. No barking."

His eyes lit up and he soon dropped the ball at my feet, his body immediately crouching, ready to catch the ball. He watched as I picked up the ball. As soon as I threw it, he darted off after it, following it into the dark twilight.

I couldn't help laughing as Snow stumbled over his feet. He was only a year old and he was still a big overgrown puppy. I sat down on a nearby crate, waiting for him to return. Shea baa'ed in greeting at seeing me and sat down beside me, his head playfully butting my leg. 

"Hey, Shea." I said quietly, petting his head. The ram happily grazed beside me, allowing me to let him in between throwing the ball for Snow. It wasn't until around what must have been the twentieth throw that the sun truly started to rise and with it, was the oldest of my brothers, Judah.

"Well, up early again, I see." Judah teased, ruffling my hair playfully, as he passed by me. 

I poked my tongue out at him, earning the same action repeated at me. I giggled at seeing Judah making some silly faces at me now.

He chuckled softly, taking a seat on my other seat. Snow, who after tiring of playing fetch and had settled beside Shea to chew on a stray stick, noticed my big brother and wagged his tail. The wolf-dog walked up to him, begging for a stroke. Judah smiled, reaching out and scratched him gingerly behind his ears.

"Hello to you, too, mutt." Judah teased. I pretended to gasp and jokingly pulled on his ear, being careful not to hurt it.

"His name is Snow, not Mutt!" I teased back. 

Snow's eyes closed in joy, enjoying the attention. 

"Alright, his name is furball." Judah convinced me, smiling. I saw his brown eyes shining with love that siblings could have, but it could also be one that a father has for his children. After all it was Judah who raised me, with the help of our other brothers while our Father and my mother raised my twin brother.

I put on the best fake angry face I could muster and finally tugged on his cheeks with both hands. "Not even close!"

Judah barely flinched at feeling me pinching his cheeks. We always teased each other like this, with him pretending not to know Snow's name.

"Alrighty, then how about..." 

I shrieked at being into my brother's arms and lifted into the air as he got to his feet.

"Judah! Put me down!" I laughed, clinging to him as he spun me around. Snow barked, picking up on the excitement coming from us and he ran around Judah's feet, jumping at him as if to rescue me.

It wasn't until another head poked out, a sleepy groan coming from it that Judah had stopped. 

"What's all the noise. We're trying to sleep." His voice was a bit irritated but there was a hint of good humor. It was the second oldest, Simeon. 

I giggled as Judah held me against his chest, like one would hold a child. "Sorry, brother. Judah and I were playing."

Simeon just ruffled my hair in a loving manner, playfully calling me a brat. It wasn't long before the rest of my brothers, save for Joseph, streamed out of the tent, stretching and yawning as they dragged themselves into the morning. Every one of them greeted me with either a hug, a kiss, or playful pinch on my cheek.

Judah gently put me back on my feet and hugged me. "Come on, little lamb, let's get you washed up before father comes to wake Joseph and we get scolded." 

"Snow." Just the tone I used in saying his name was enough to get his attention. Within seconds, Snow dashed off, letting out a bark that almost sounded like the bleating of a sheep. Shea bleated after his canine brother, calling once more to the other sheep. 

Judah chuckled and led me over to the basin to join our brothers in getting ready for the day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wolf among the sheep.

I stretched my arms, feeling the small dull beginnings of the aches that comes from stretching your limbs to the limit. Snow laid beside me, his ears perked. His attention was on all the sheep that walked around us, ears straining in their direction when one cried out.

He almost didn't seem to be the playful dog from this morning.

My brothers were nearby, within shouting range, either tending to the sheep or cutting sheaves of wheat. Judah always stayed closest to me. It's just how he was. Every once in awhile he would look over at me, as I sat here on this rock, just humming gently as I bundled the sheaves of wheat my brothers would cut and place in front of me.

Snow suddenly looked over at hearing my stomach growl. His body twitched, as if to expect all of us to return home for our midmorning meal. I ignored the wolf-dog's small whines. They were soft at first, but when they got to be like a loud squeak, Asher spoke to me.

"Looks like Snow heard the wolf in your belly, Alina." He teased as he placed a sheaf of wheat in the pile that I was working on.

I blew my tongue at him, finishing up with bundling Judah's latest bundle. Judah, having been working since he could walk, has gotten used to working the fields and he was pretty fast at cutting and gathering wheat. I learned to keep up with all of my brothers in bundling wheat. In my early years, they took turns bundling wheat with me, but once they saw I was keeping up, they left me to it, only stopping once in awhile to either let me catch up or to take a small breather.

"And he knows it's not yet time to eat." I said. And as if reassured that nothing was wrong with me, Snow went back into alert mode, looking around once more.

Asher laughed lightly, sitting down beside me on the boulder. He pinched my cheek gently, "Cheeky little rat." He teased.

I just smiled, blowing at him again. Asher pinched me again before picking up a bundle of wheat and grabbing a coil of rope.

"Let me help you for a bit." Asher said gently, starting to wrap the sheaf of wheat together.

"Noooo, you'll mess with my and Judah's alignment." I nudged my brother playfully, earning a laugh.

"Oh really? Just what is this alignment?" Simeon asked, with a raised eyebrow as he picked up a baby sheep.

"See, me and Judah have been on the same wavelength. He would cut his bundles and hand them to me just as I get done bundling one pile." I replied. Simeon and Asher just traded looks for a minute before pinching my side, making me squeal a bit.

"I think you just want to be difficult." Simeon teased. He growled like a wolf and tickled me. I squeaked again.

"Si.. Simeon? Stooooop!" I managed break free from him and ran, dropping my work onto the ground. Simeon chased me, still growling like a wolf with our other brothers watching on in amusement. "Judah! Protect me from the Simeon Wolf!"

Judah looked up in alarm, but smiled in relief at seeing me running from our brother. He almost toppled over from me running to him and grabbing onto his arm. Snow barked, running after us and playfully pouncing at Simeon. Judah just laughed, winked at me. He placed his sickle at his feet. Pretending to wield a sword or a weapon, he swung the imagined weapon at Simeon. "Back, back away, you beast."

Simeon let out a howl, pretending to bite at Judah before fleeing back towards the sheep. "Since I can't have the girl, I'll snack on some sheep." While Snow had been running and playing with us, the instant Simeon said that, my canine companion immediately bared his teeth, running faster than I thought possible and beat my brother to a nearby sheep.

"Snow?" I whispered, feeling ill at ease about the way Snow was growling at Simeon.

Simeon immediately dropped the wolf act and took a step back. "Whoa, calm down, Snow."

"Snow!" I tried to run to my dog but Judah grabbed me, "Judah! Let me go! Snow!"

"Easy there, Boy." Simeon said calmly. He reached out a hand, only to pull it back instant when Snow snapped at him. "Whoa!"

"Alina, no!" Judah's grip was firm, but I knew all the ways of getting out of his grip. "Eliana!" He called as i yanked my wrist out of his hand. "Eliana!"

Snow looked like he was about to jump on Simeon and kill him. My heart was pounding hard in my chest as I ran at them.

"Snow, no!"

"Lina!"

I made it just in time to intercept Snow's attack on my second born brother. Snow leapt at me, knocking me to the ground, pinning me. I closed my eyes and felt pain as his teeth clamped down on my arm.

"Eliana? Judah, we've got to do something!"

My brothers voices cried out around me, but Judah's strong voice silenced them.

"We can't do anything, this is in Eliana's hands!"

I opened my eyes and I saw the scariest look in Snow's blue eyes. He looked more wolf than dog, his ears laid back in fear. I struggled to sit up, his teeth sinking in to my arm. "Snow, it's alright." Tears burned at the corners of my eyes as I slipped my remaining arm around my dog's neck. I buried my face into his fur. "Snow, it's okay. Simeon was just playing. It's ok."

Gradually, Snow calmed down, all fear, anger, the aggression of a wolf seeped out of him, leaving him as the playful sweet wolf-dog that I had raised since his birth or close to it. He finally released me. A whine escaped his throat, and I felt the warmth of his tongue on my bleeding arm, lapping at my wound.

"It's okay, Snow. I know you didn't mean to." I whispered. My lips brushed against his nose as i released him. But Snow's ears were still laid back, his tail tucked between his legs. He took a few tentative steps away as Judah suddenly seized me by my shoulders.

"What the hell were you thinking? What would have happened if Snow had done more than bite you?" Judah thundered as he gave me one hard shake. His voice made me flinch, but it also brought about my own anger.

"But he didn't!" I snapped. "So there!"

My big brother's eyes were serious and full of hurt, concern, and anger. And beneath it all was fear. My big brother was scared? My big fearless brother who always knew when to be fierce and when to be kind was scared.

We glared at each other, refusing to back down, but Judah sighed, releasing me and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Alina, you shouldn't rush into danger like that. What would we do if we lost you?"

"You didn't and why can't I protect my brothers like they protect me?" I fumed, my body was starting to tremble and pain shot through my arm, because my brain was now fully aware that I had been bit.

Snow whined, now laying flat on his belly. He timidly crawled up to my side, nosing my hip and licking my injured arm. I gently stroked his head, but giggled gently as he sudden rolled over, flashing his underside to me. I knew from having watched some wolves from a distance with Judah that wolves would do this to show a sign of yielding.

I gently scratched his belly, soothing him. He finally rolled back over. As soon as he did, Simeon reached down and stroked his head.

It was then that Judah put an arm around me, hugging me. "You can, but I think Simeon can handle himself. If Father sees your arm, he'll have a fit." My brother gently took my arm into his hand, carefully looking it over. He then gave some orders. "Levi, get some water out of the well and Issachar, tear me a piece of cloth so we can clean her wound."

They did as they were told. I squeezed my eyes shut, hissing sharply as a wet piece of cloth touched my arm from Judah gently wiping the blood off. Once my arm was cleaned, he used the bigger strip of cloth, which has been torn from one of my brothers' head cloths, to wrap my hand in. Soon my hand was wrapped just past my wrist and a dull ache lingered from Snow having bitten me.

"You know, Judah, I think Alina did pretty well in protecting me." Simeon said as Judah finished tying my makeshift bandage. "I think she's proven herself worthy."

"Huh?" I looked at Simeon in confusion. "What do you mean? Simeon?"

Simeon smiled, his eyes glittered with mischief, but warmth shown under it. "Well, you see, you know where we go for entertainment once in awhile, right?"

My eyes widened. "The place with women and wine?" I knew my brothers, save for Joseph, would go off once or twice a month to let loose and have some fun. I saw them sneaking out when I was 12. I didn't think anything of it back then, but since Judah had saw me watching them sneaking out, he would tell me to grab Joseph and go sleep in our parents' tent. And as if she knew, Mama would have a bed set up for us until our brothers returned.

I felt uneasy about where Simeon was going with this. "I guess."

"Well, I was thinking, you should come with us." He said. A bright smile tugged on Simeon's lips. "You know, you could meet a nice guy, maybe settle down, start a family..."

"No!" Judah's sharp tone made me flinch. The look he gave Simeon was just as sharp and cold.

Confusion crept into my second oldest brother's face as he looked at Judah. "Why not? Father is always saying Alina is at the age of marriage and that she should settle down soon."

Soon? My stomach flipped at the thought. Was Papa really going to arrange a marriage for me?

"The answer is still no, Simeon! We are not taking our little sister to that place!" Judah said sharply. His eyes narrowed as Simeon stood straighter now, glaring back at him. The rest of my brothers shifted uncomfortably at the sudden tension between the oldest siblings. Some of them mumbled uneasily to each other.

"Would you honestly be fine with a complete stranger touching our little sister?" Judah reprimanded, his eyes narrowing at Simeon.

Simeon, being just as stubborn as my oldest brother, if not more, glared back at him. I felt extremely uncomfortable with where this conversation was heading. I nearly jumped as someone grabbed me. When i looked at who grabbed me. I saw it was Levi, my third oldest brother.

"Levi?" I started, but my brother eased me away from our oldest brothers and to his side. Levi gently shushed me while Simeon and Judah continue to glare at each other.

"Judah, we can't keep protecting Alina forever, actually I should say you can't keep protecting her forever. She'll have to grow up eventually and Father will marry her off anyway. So we might as well find a man we can trust in before father does." It was strange to hear all of this coming from Simeon. Simeon could be a bit arrogant and maybe a little selfish, and he has teased me about the lack of boyfriends, but it was always unsettling to hear him discuss my future marital affairs so seriously.

"I understand that, Simeon, but who is to say anyone we choose would be better than who father has in mind? We could doom her as much as father could." Judah countered.

I felt my stomach flip, causing an icy trickling sensation to form in the pit of my stomach. Levi squeezed my shoulder as if sensing my unease.

"All the more to take her with us."

"Um, don't i get a say in all of this?" My voice came out as a squeak but it was enough to make Simeon and Judah stop arguing.

Judah's eyes softened and his lips formed a strained smile. "Yes, you do, but you can't disobey father. If you don't have anyone lined up then you'll have no choice but to marry the man he chooses to be your husband."

I crossed my arms. "What if I don't want to get married?" I stared at Judah, trying my best to imitate his serious glare.

Judah massaged his temples with a sigh. "Eliana, all girls are to be to be married when they come of the age of 14."

I flinched at the thought and felt my hands into fists. "And I don't like the thought of marriage. I may not be cut out for it." I only say this because of the terrifying thought that I could be barren, unable to have kids. And I really dislike the idea of being in pain just to give birth. All of my brothers knew this. Mama and Papa knew this. everyone knows of my fears and misgivings.

"Eliana, you have to obey Father and accept his choice. He does have your best interests at heart." Judah said softly. My oldest brother reached out and touched the side of my face.

I shook my head, fighting the urge to cry. "But Papa isn't the one who raised me. You are, Judah." I whispered. "If I had to get married, I'd rather be married to someone you approve of."

Judah pulled me into his body and hugged me.

"I know, little lamb, but Jacob is still your father and he outranks me." He said this in my ear, gently stroking my back. I giggled at that, holding onto his arm.

"You make our family seem like a pack of wolves or a flock of sheep."

Simeon smirked and pinched my side. "Well, we might as well be one of them." He teased.

All of us couldn't help laughing at the thought and soon my stomach growled. Snow's ears perked up, his gaze going to me. He let out a soft whine as he now sat up.

"Alright, Snow, now I'm hungry for some breakfast."

As soon as I said this, Snow got to his feet and started barking, immediately running around the field to round up flock of sheep. Shea bleated after him, calling everyone together. My brothers laughed at this and we soon started for home.


End file.
